Restless hand and constantly itchy?! - Fibromyalgia Acti...

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Restless hand and constantly itchy?!

Elle_Mae profile image
7 Replies

Hello all,

I'm new to this community! Still going through the formal diagnostic process but been having fibro symptoms for around 1 year now. This is important as I may not have access to the prescription meds of someone formally diagnosed just yet - we'll see when I next go to my GP though!

Some background: I cooked dinner yesterday and my hands were in horrific pain during and after the process. They were shaky and sore for quite a long time afterwards.

Today I'm suffering with "restless hands". They just feel slightly numb and really uncomfortable, like I need to keep moving them just so they feel okay. It's really frustrating and making writing difficult - it seems localised to my thumb in my right hand. It's hindering my revision quite significantly and I wondered if you guys knew of anything that relieves the horrible restless feeling?

I'm sure it will resolve itself by tomorrow but I figured I'd ask to see if it were definitely a fibro issue or if perhaps it's something else entirely.

On a side note - my legs and back get awfully itchy quite often and it can sometimes keep me awake at night. I try to stay moisturised to rule out dry skin as a cause - I mean perhaps it's even due to allergies but it's just so tiring to always feel so itchy!

Has anyone else experienced this, and what has helped you alleviate the itching? I'm getting pretty fed up with this symptom in particular as I'm constantly uncomfortable.

Forgive me if it's inappropriate to post here without a full diagnosis just yet - but if anyone has gone through this and has any useful tips that'd be fantastic!

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Elle_Mae profile image
Elle_Mae
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7 Replies
Creativeness1 profile image
Creativeness1

Hi Elle_Mae

Welcome to the forum

As you are newly diagnosed my best personal advice to you would be to take some time out (in your head) to try to come to terms with having a long term condition.

Acceptance can be incredibly hard when you first find out about your condition.

Learn as much as you possibly can about Fibro. If you have a look at our mother site you'll find lots of information about Fibro on there

fmauk.org

We are incredibly lucky to have such an amazing bunch of people on the forum. Ask anything you want to and we will do our best to help and support you. Please take a look at the pinned post o the home page as this will help on locking posts etc.

creative1

FMAUK Volunteer admin

Creativeness1 profile image
Creativeness1

Hi Elle_Mae

once your formally diagnosed you will get certain medication which will help with the symptoms. I am on Gabapentin these do ease the symptoms.

You will also can help from your GP and rheumatlogist

Good look

Dizzytwo profile image
DizzytwoModerator

Hello Elle-may great to have you on board . I am sorry you have to be here but if you had to be anywhere you couldn't have joined a more friendlier and helpful group.

Sorry to hear you suffer from all that itching You have my sympathy with that. Have you spoke to your doctor about the itchiness ? It may be a good idea to do so then maybe you will get some rest and relief from the dreaded thing.

Or have you tried talking to the pharmacist he may be able to suggest you try an otc antihistamine.

Maybe you would like to check out our mother site it is filled with wonderful helpful Information. fmauk.com I am sure others will be along with more help. Until then please have a good evening

Mo xx

Elle_Mae profile image
Elle_Mae in reply to Dizzytwo

I've spoken to my GP and she has advised moisturising and antihistamines which I've been using for the past week without much improvement unfortunately - but maybe my body needs a little more time to adjust or something.

With my suspected fibro she's asked me to come back when I next can with a full list of symptoms I've been suffering with so she can make a referral - I'll probably double check with her if she thinks the itching is worth adding to the list when I go back to her!

Thank you so much for your welcome :)

bluebell99 profile image
bluebell99

Hello and welcome to our friendly fibro forum.

I understand you are waiting for a formal diagnosis and whilst it can be liberating to finally have a name for the way you are feeling, it can also be a bit overwhelming to think you have this chronic condition for which there is no cure.

So many of us have differing symptoms it would be hard to pinpoint something and say, "That's definitely fibro" My own view is that fibro is an umbrella term for many

symptoms and conditions which , as yet, have no formal identity.

Fibro can also come with other conditions, indeed the more posts you read, the more certain things stand out. Spinal disc problems, IBS, hypothyoid, RA, lupus, ME and others seem to feature regularly. Osteoarthritis too is troublesome for many fibromites. That is not to say you will have have these problems, some members are "lucky" to have just the fibro.

As far as the itching goes, I use Eurax which can be bought fairly cheaply from supermarkets as well as chemists. You could also try Loratidine or Cetirizine, both anti histamines which could prevent you scratching. The chemist can make an aqueous cream up with cooling menthol which can give relief too.

Looking forward to seeing you around the forum.

Kay

Dizzytwo profile image
DizzytwoModerator

Hi Elle-may I would certainly had the itching to your list for your doctor. Many fibro people suffer with something called allodynia, This can cause itching from something as simple as scratching an itch.

In fibromyalgia, for some reason, our nociceptors start perceiving that all kinds of sensations are painful. Researchers believe is part of the central sensitization associated with fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and a handful of other conditions.

How to help find relief I think is trial and error like most things. Have you tried anything like a lidocaine cream ? may be worth talking to the pharmacist about. Sorry I can not help more my dear.

Mo xx

TheAuthor profile image
TheAuthor

Hi Elle_Mae

I sincerely hope that you are feeling as well as you possibly can be today? Welcome to the forum and it is wonderful to make your acquaintance.

.

I have pasted you an excerpt below from the *NHS Choices cache on RLS (restless legs syndrome) which the NHS say can affect your arms and other parts of your body, so I sincerely hope that you find this useful. Many Fibro sufferers also live with this issue:

*Symptoms of restless legs syndrome

Restless legs syndrome typically causes an overwhelming urge to move your legs and an uncomfortable sensation in your legs.

The sensation may also affect your arms, chest and face, too. It has been described as:

tingling, burning, itching or throbbing

a "creepy-crawly" feeling

feeling like fizzy water is inside the blood vessels in the legs

a painful, cramping sensation in the legs, particularly in the calves

Symptoms of restless legs syndrome:

nhs.uk/Conditions/Restless-...

.

I have also pasted you a link related to itching and treamtnets from the NHS Choices cache:

nhs.uk/Conditions/Itching/P...

.

And the **VeryWell website says:

**For those with a pain type called allodynia, which causes touch to hurt, scratching an itch can make the whole area scream with pain, as well. This isn't a symptom you hear about a lot. ... One fibromyalgia survey (Laniosz) reported itchiness without a known cause in about two percent of patients.16 Jul 2016

.

I want to sincerely wish you all the best of luck and please take care of yourself my friend.

All my hopes and dreams for you

Ken

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